Oil exploration firms are crossing paths trying to get permits to drill test wells in the greater Florida Everglades watershed, despite accusations that one of the firms, Burnett Oil Co., has left behind miles of scars in the environmentally-sensitive land during previous efforts. Trend Exploration of North Fort Myers, another firm that wants to drill for oil in Collier County, is challenging a November decision by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to deny it a permit the company sought to drill an exploratory well to seek oil reserves. Florida Division of Administrative Hearings Judge Francine Ffolkes is scheduled to hear Trend Exploration’s appeal.
The Department of Environmental Protection in November denied a permit that Trend Exploration sought to drill an exploratory well to seek oil reserves.
The natural gas storage report from the EIA for the week ending April 30th indicated that the amount of natural gas held in underground storage in the US rose by 60 billion cubic feet to 1,958 billion cubic feet by the end of the week, which left our gas supplies 345 billion cubic feet, or 15.0% below the 2,303 billion cubic feet that were in storage on April 30th of last year, and 61 billion cubic feet, or 3.0% below the five-year average of 2,019 billion cubic feet of natural gas that have been in storage as of the 30th of April in recent years..the 60 billion cubic feet that were added to US natural gas storage this week was more than the average forecast of a 51 billion cubic foot addition from an S&P Global Platts survey of analysts, but was well below the average addition of 81 billion cubic feet of natural gas that have typically been injected into natural gas storage during the same week over the past 5 years, as well as well below the 103 billion cubic feet added to natural
Congress members: Big Cypress should be part of the climate solution
The letter also urges the federal government to deny the applications.
“As you know, the Biden-Harris administration has begun to advance a whole-of-government, climate-forward agenda,” the letter says. “We fully support this agenda, and we believe our country’s public lands and national park sites – including Big Cypress – should be part of the climate solution.”
The letter was addressed to the department’s deputy director of operations, Shawn Benge, and new Fish and Wildlife and Parks Assistant Secretary Shannon Estenoz.
Estenoz was an advocate for Everglades restoration under the Obama administration and worked as the Everglades Foundation’s chief operating officer.